BOSTON – Vinny Del Negro joked Sunday that something in the Canadian air caused his Clippers to play their worst game of the season in Friday's blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Whatever it was, the Clippers evidently brought it with them back to their home country – at least for the first half of their Sunday matinee with the Boston Celtics – before finally expelling it late in their tight loss at TD Garden.

The Clippers were outscored by 19 in Sunday's first half before making a strong run to close the game. However, Paul Pierce's 3-pointer with two seconds left gave the Celtics the 106-104 victory.

"If we would've came in with the same effort and energy we had in the second half, I think it would have been a different outcome," said Clippers guard Jamal Crawford, who tied for a game-high with 23 points off the bench.

The Clippers went on a 21-8 run in the fourth quarter and got to within 103-101 before Pierce's 3-pointer.

Crawford noted that the Celtics' aggression mirrored what the Clippers look like on their best days. Boston set Sunday's tempo and forced L.A. to play uncomfortably early.

"That's what we do to teams when we're successful," he said.

Eric Bledsoe, starting for an injured Chris Paul, also had a career-high-tying 23 points for the Clippers – and 10 assists. Blake Griffin added a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double.

The Clippers blamed their collective defense for the loss, with reserve forward Matt Barnes pinpointing it directly on a lack of effort.

"We just haven't played well defensively, and I think that's the key to our success," Griffin said. "We have to be on our rotations defensively and really bring the energy to withstand poor shooting."

Griffin and the Clippers actually shot quite well for most of Sunday's game – 59 percent excluding the fateful second quarter, in which they were outscored 26-10 for their worst scoring period of the season.

"The second quarter was the difference in the game tonight," Del Negro said.

CRAWFORD PLAYS WITH INJURY

Crawford's strong play came despite a broken nose, which he played through without protection for most of his 32 minutes Sunday.

Upon entering the game, Crawford sported a homemade mask from team trainer Jasen Powell to protect the fracture. But, finding it uncomfortable, he stripped it off before the second quarter. Crawford said he expects to play sans mask Monday night against Washington.

The injury originally occurred Friday, when the Clippers' sixth man attempted to rebound his own missed free throw and caught an errant elbow from the Raptors' Kyle Lowry.

"He got me pretty good," Crawford said. "I thought it was bleeding."

Crawford had an MRI that night and then a CT scan on Saturday, which confirmed the break.

Normally, the Clippers would special-order a mask, but the turnaround time on the road forced Powell to construct something from scratch overnight.

He presented it to Crawford pregame Sunday, and the 32-year-old guard tried it out in warmups. He said it didn't bother his shooting motion as much as he thought it would, but acknowledged it made it much harder to see – and breathe.

BLEDSOE'S CONFIDENCE

Bledsoe took back-to-back 3-pointers with a minute left in the game and the Clippers down five points.

The first one missed badly; the second swished in.

He said the second shot was reflective of a concerted effort he made to maintain his confidence. Assistant coach Robert Pack repeatedly instructs him to erase his memory of all misses as soon as they clang off the rim, and that voice came to Bledsoe's head as the ball came back to him.

"I haven't been shooting the ball well and haven't been playing confident, but (today) I had a mindset coming into the game of, 'I'm just gonna shoot,'" Bledsoe said. "'Even if I miss 100 in a row, I'll keep shooting.' I think I did a great job of doing that."

Bledsoe's 3-point shooting is up to a 38-percent clip. He shot 26 percent his first two seasons in the NBA.

TRADE RUMORS SWIRL

The Sporting News reported Sunday the Clippers contacted the Celtics about a deal for Kevin Garnett, 36, that would include Bledsoe and forward Caron Butler.

Garnett has spent the last six seasons in Boston. He is on the first year of a new three-year, $34 million contract that made him one of just four NBA players with a full no-trade clause.

He would have the final word on any possible trades before the Feb. 21 trade deadline.

NOTES

Del Negro said he did not expect Paul to play Monday. He is with the team but nursing a bruised right kneecap and has not been practicing. ... Griffin's swollen left ankle, which he aggravated last month in Phoenix, is showing improvement, according to Del Negro. ... Crawford planned to review the tape of the offensive foul he was whistled for in the final minute that nullified a game-tying jumper. "I felt like he kinda took a dive a little bit," he said of defender Avery Bradley.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.